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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27802582">This Is All Just A Dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFrost/pseuds/BloodFrost'>BloodFrost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akatsuki - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gay Male Character, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Love, M/M, SasoDei - Freeform, SasoDei Week 2020, Short &amp; Sweet, Sick Character, Sickfic, Yaoi, naruto - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:02:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,118</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27802582</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFrost/pseuds/BloodFrost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Explosive Deidara comes down with a cold, and the only one around to care for him is his strict, gruff Akatsuki partner Sasori.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Deidara/Sasori (Naruto)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Is All Just A Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oi, brat; what’s wrong with you?”</p><p>Deidara looked up miserably. He and Sasori were in one of the Akatsuki hideouts in the east, having just arrived back from their scouting mission of Konaha. Leader Pein’s orders were that they were to remain in this place and keep watch on the Leaf’s jinchuriki from this location, until the others joined them within two weeks, at which point they would attack as a group (Pein reasoned that the nine-tails was the most powerful of the tailed beasts, and would therefore require everyone to work together as a whole to take it down).</p><p>Which was nice; this was rather like a two-week vacation of sorts. </p><p>This abandoned house deep in the woods was small, but cozy. And it’s not like they wouldn’t have things to do; Sasori had tools stashed here, and a fresh body to begin turning into a puppet. And Deidara had his clay, which he had been sitting and trying to think up ideas for sculptures for ... when the sneezing started.</p><p>Started, and got worse as the day progressed.</p><p>“Ah, it’s nothing, Un. Probably just a cold.”</p><p>“A cold?”</p><p>Deidara nodded and sneezed again, this time into a tissue. “Yeah, Un. Must be from sleeping outside that rainy night by the water. I’ll be fine; just gotta rest.”</p><p>He laid down on his side on one of the old pallets, facing away from Sasori. Sasori stared at his back for a few moments, then resumed work on his latest ‘art piece’; a villager from the Hidden Sound, one of Orochimaru’s bastard creations. This one had a talent for manipulating human emotions. Once Sasori had her drained and properly equipped, there was no doubt that she’d —</p><p>Another loud fit of coughing broke Sasori’s concentration, and he looked up with a frown. Deidara was —</p><p>—Wait; why was he shaking so hard? Was he crying?</p><p>A small clack-clack sound added further to the mystery, and then Sasori realized all at once that Deidara wasn’t crying; he was <em>shivering</em>. So hard that his teeth were knocking together.</p><p>Sighing, Sasori got up and went to him, arms folded across his chest as he asked, “Are you POSITIVE you’re alright, brat?”</p><p>Without turning around, Deidara nodded. “Absolutely fine. Just need to sleep.”</p><p>Ignoring the blonde’s words, Sasori leaned over him and put a hand on his forehead ... and immediately drew back, startled.</p><p>“You’re <strong>very</strong> hot.”</p><p>Deidara twisted his head around, and Sasori took notice of how pink his cheeks were. </p><p>“Thanks, Danna,” he replied, managing a grin. “You’re not so bad-looking yourself.”</p><p>“Why must you make a joke of everything?   Clearly you’re not well. Maybe we should disguise ourselves and travel to the next village, get the help of a medical ninja?”</p><p>Deidara turned back around with a huff. “Danna, seriously, I’m <em>fine</em>. I know it’s been awhile since you were human, but getting sick is just a normal part of human life, Un. All I need is some quiet and some rest. Okay?”</p><p>There was a silence, and Deidara chanced a glance over his shoulder: Sasori was nowhere to be seen. He sighed; as much as it bothered him having somebody fuss over him, it would have been nice if Sasori <em>actually</em> cared about what happened to him.</p><p>But then again, this, what they had between them, wasn’t a ‘relationship’. They were partners, and, this past year, <em>sexual</em> partners. But sex didn’t mean love, and Deidara had reconciled himself to this reality.</p><p><em>What we have is nice</em>, Deidara thought to himself now, as he closed his eyes. <em>Easy and uncomplicated. But if Danna started to act different, if he actually cared about me ... yeah. It wouldn’t work, Un. Better to leave things as they are.</em></p><p>It was on this note that Deidara fell into an uneasy sleep.</p><p>— —</p><p>Later, Deidara woke up, and immediately noticed a change; he wasn’t hot anymore. His face felt, in fact, pleasantly cool.</p><p>He cautiously lifted his hand up and found, on his forehead beneath his bangs, a cool, damp cloth.</p><p>“Oh; you’re awake.”</p><p>Deidara turned his head and found himself looking at Sasori, Sasori who was in his own puppet body, and not Hiroku’s. As Deidara watched, Sasori took the cloth from his head, wrung it out onto the floor, then dipped it back into a small, water filled bowl.</p><p>“You’ve been sleeping for so long, I thought you were dead,” Sasori commented, as he put the new cloth on Deidara’s forehead. </p><p>“Huh? I just went to sleep maybe an hour ago, Un.”</p><p>“Eh? No; you’ve been out for three days, brat.”</p><p>Deidara’s eyes widened. “Three days? Seriously??”</p><p>Sasori nodded, then got up and crossed the room, where he had built a flickering fire. Squinting, Deidara could make out a black kettle over the flames, and a small white bag on the table.</p><p>Sasori went to the pot, picked up a ladle, and stirred whatever was inside. Then he went to the bag and took out a small brown bottle, and a spoon.</p><p>“Sit up; you need to take this medicine.”</p><p>“Medicine? Where did you get medicine?”</p><p>“Never mind, brat. Just sit up.”</p><p>Deidara did as told, and watched as Sasori measured the liquid into the spoon. “Open.”</p><p>“Danna, you don’t have to do that. I’m not —“</p><p>“Stop questioning me and open, or this whole bottle is going down your throat,” Sasori said, grumpily. So Deidara opened his mouth and let Sasori gently feed him the spoon. </p><p>Deidara made a face. “This tastes awful! What is this, rat piss?!”</p><p>Sasori gave him a dry smile. “Be thankful; they say the more bitter the medicine, the quicker the cure.”</p><p>Sasori went back to the kettle, and Deidara took the time to study the bottle. It had the symbol for the Land of Waves at the top, which startled Deidara.</p><p>
  <em>The Land of Waves is at least a ten mile walk from here. He didn’t — Sasori didn’t go all the way there, for ME?</em>
</p><p>“Danna?”</p><p>Sasori looked up from the pot. “Yes?”</p><p>“Um, I just noticed this bottle is from the Land of Waves. Why didn’t you just go to the Leaf? I mean,  you’d have to disguise yourself either way, so why not pick the closer place?”</p><p>“Because the Land Of Waves has superior medical supplies, and I wanted you to have the very best medication,” Sasori answered, gruffly.</p><p>“But ... “</p><p>“You’re doing a lot of unnecessary talking, brat. Lay still, and please stop distracting me. I haven’t cooked human food in years.”</p><p>Deidara’s eyes went wide again. “Danna — you’re COOKING for me?”</p><p>“What did I just say about unnecessary questions?”</p><p>“No, it’s just — you don’t have to do all this for me, un. I mean, I’ll probably get better just by sleeping and resting.”</p><p>Sasori just shook his head and looked back down at the pot. “Stop distracting me, brat, or I’ll never get this done.”</p><p>“But I just said —“</p><p>“Shut up. Take a nap or something until this is done.”</p><p>It was at this point that Deidara noticed Sasori had a small black book, that he kept looking at while he tended whatever was in the pot.</p><p>Was that — he wasn’t actually reading a cook book??</p><p>This was getting more bizarre by the second. Was Deidara just dreaming all of this? Was his fever so high that it was causing him to have hallucinations?</p><p><em>That must be it</em>, Deidara thought to himself, somewhat relieved as he laid back down. <em>This is all just a dream. Danna isn’t — Danna couldn’t possibly be —</em></p><p>He fell asleep before he could finish the thought, and he went into it without a murmur of protest.</p><p>The very next thing Deidara was aware of was softness. Something soft and pleasant was touching his cheeks, causing him to break out in a smile.</p><p>He opened his eyes, and was startled when he was met with the sight of Sasori, gazing down on him with his deep, golden-brown eyes. His hand was on Deidara’s face — was THAT what felt so soft to Deidara?</p><p>Sasori had never touched him so gently before.</p><p>“Sit up,” Sasori said to him now, moving away and crossing the room. “I made food, and I want you to eat. You haven’t eaten in a while.”</p><p>Deidara sat up, positioning himself so that he was leaning back against the wall. He still felt weak, but better. Much better, in fact.</p><p>Sasori dished up a hearty bowl from the pot, and brought it to Deidara, kneeling beside him as he held the bowl out to him.</p><p>“Okay; I followed all the instructions so this should be fine. And I let it cool so you should be able to eat it right away.”</p><p>Deidara sniffed; even through his congestion, he could make out an entirely pleasant and savory aroma coming from the bowl.</p><p>“What is this?”</p><p>“Beef soup, with carrot, potato, and leeks. The book says beef is one of the best proteins to build a body back up from an illness.”</p><p>Deidara took an experimental bite, and his face slid into an expression of pleasure. “Oh, Danna — this is fantastic!”</p><p>“Good. I’m glad.”</p><p>He began cleaning up the tissues and cloths from around Deidara’s pallet, while the latter continued to eat. </p><p>“Hey, Danna?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Can I ask you a question?”</p><p>“If you must.”</p><p>Putting the bowl down (he’d devoured the entire thing), Deidara asked, “Why are you doing so much for me?”</p><p>“Do you want some more stew?”</p><p>“Yeah, Un. But I also want you to answer my question, please.”</p><p>Sasori brought him another bowl of the fragrant soup, then knelt by him once more.</p><p>“Deidara,” Sasori began, for once using Deidara’s actual name, “You do realize that you’re my responsibility, right?”</p><p>“Your responsibility?”</p><p>“Yes. When ... when you ... when you care about somebody, then that person becomes your responsibility. It’s your job to keep them safe, and healthy, and happy. I — care about you, a great deal, so naturally if you’re sick, well, I need to take care of you. Idiot.”</p><p>Deidara was struck dumb by Sasori’s words. Never in million years did he ever think Sasori would say such ... such <em>sweet</em> things, to him.</p><p>Sasori was back on his feet now, tidying up around the place. Deidara watched him a bit before clearing his throat and saying, softly,</p><p>“Hey, Danna?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Just so you know, just in case I haven’t told you this yet — I love you from the bottom of my soul.”</p><p>Sasori turned around, and the surprised look on his face was enough to make Deidara want to burst out laughing. Funny ... and also overwhelmingly beautiful.</p><p>“Y-you do?”</p><p>“I do, Un, I’ve been waiting for the right time to confess to you, and I’m pretty sure this is it.”</p><p>He held his breath, wondering how Sasori would respond.</p><p>He was beyond surprised when Sasori came over to him, knelt down, and put both arms around him, holding him close.</p><p>“I ... honestly don’t think I have a soul anymore. But if I did, well ... I love you from the bottom of my soul, as well, Deidara,” Sasori murmured into Deidara’s hair. “Which is why you need to finish your meal. You need to get better and stronger. Okay?”</p><p>Deidara grinned and picked his spoon back up, taking a large mouthful of stew. “Okay, Un!”</p><p>The rest of the evening passed quickly, with Deidara falling asleep soon after his meal.</p><p>He woke up sometime later, the only light the moon streaming in through the windows and the small embers of the fire, and ... a feeling.</p><p>Something was touching his chest.</p><p>He twisted his head around, and found Sasori laying beside him, his arms wrapped snugly around Deidara’s waist, a blanket covering them both.</p><p>“Danna?”</p><p>“It’s me, brat. Go back to sleep.”</p><p>“Danna, I appreciate this but ... I mean I know you don’t sleep. You don’t have to stay here with me all night if you don’t —“</p><p>Sasori extended his puppet-neck until his head was leaning up and over Deidara’s, and he was looking at him with an exasperated expression on his face.</p><p>“Never mind what I’m doing, Dei. Just close your eyes and sleep.”</p><p>“But —“</p><p>Sasori kissed him, effectively shutting the blonde up. “I’ve certainly got my hands full with you,” he said, as he retracted his neck back to normal. “Looks like I’ll have to be with you forever, just to keep an eye on you.”</p><p>“Nothing is forever, though, Un. Life is a fleeting moment of —“</p><p>Sasori pinched his cheek, hard. “Don’t test my patience, brat. Now sleep.”</p><p>So Deidara smiled and closed his eyes, doing as he was told.</p><p><em>Maybe ... maybe things that last forever aren’t so bad after all,</em> he thought to himself, as he drifted off to sleep.</p>
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